Gyeonggi Northern Fire Department Urges Participation in "Mandatory Appointment of Fire Safety Managers at Construction Sites Starting December"

Construction Sites Above a Certain Scale Must Appoint a 'Fire Safety Manager'

Gyeonggi-do Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Regarding the 'Appointment System for Fire Safety Managers at Construction Sites,' which will be implemented nationwide starting this December, the Northern Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters urged related organizations within the province to show interest and participate on the 23rd.

The relevant law stipulates that for 'construction site fire safety management targets,' constructors who intend to build new structures, extend, remodel, rebuild, relocate, change the use, or perform major repairs must appoint a fire safety manager who has received the related safety education.

The fire safety manager is responsible for tasks such as preparing fire safety plans and supervising the installation and management of temporary fire facilities. They must hold a Fire Safety Manager certificate from the Korea Fire Safety Institute (one of Special Grade, Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3) and complete the construction site fire safety manager training course.

The construction site fire safety management targets include ▲buildings with a total floor area of 15,000㎡ or more ▲specific fire safety targets with two or fewer basement floors or 11 or more above-ground floors and a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or more ▲cold storage or refrigeration warehouses with a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or more.

Constructors must appoint a fire safety manager from the date of construction commencement notification until the building use approval date and report the appointment within 14 days from the appointment date. Violations result in fines of up to 3 million KRW for 'non-appointment' and administrative fines of up to 2 million KRW for 'non-reporting.'

Head Go Deok-geun stated, "We expect that the mandatory appointment of fire safety managers at construction sites will systematically improve safety management at construction sites."